


Red and Blue

by trashcatpaige



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Created from dan_vs92 and their AU, Drabble, Gen, Gift, Minor depiction of child neglect, Spoilers, Takes place after the season 7 reveal, Twin AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 11:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15885129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashcatpaige/pseuds/trashcatpaige
Summary: From a young age, Rusty knew that Malcom was treated differently.When they were four, their dad started color-coding all of their toys, mostly to keep Uncle Rodney from losing his mind because of the daily screaming matches and fights between the brothers. All of Rusty’s toys were red; his favorite color. Malcom’s were blue, even though he liked yellow. Red was a dominant color, according to his father. The mark of a strong leader (Definitely not because fans had the habit of sending Rusty red gifts to match his hair). Blue marked the color of his company, or at least that’s what he would say around Malcom. To Rusty, it meant Player 2, Option B, a backup plan. Malcom was born to play second fiddle to Rusty, and that’s how it was supposed to be…According to Jonas.





	Red and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> @danvssomethingorother‘s Venture Bros Twin AU
> 
> Check out the original concept by https://archiveofourown.org/users/dan_vs92/pseuds/dan_vs92
> 
> You know what you did Dan. I didn't need anymore fandoms.

From a young age, Rusty knew that Malcom was treated differently.

When they were four, their dad started color-coding all of their toys, mostly to keep Uncle Rodney from losing his mind because of the daily screaming matches and fights between the brothers. All of Rusty’s toys were red; his favorite color. Malcom’s were blue, even though he liked yellow. Red was a dominant color, according to his father. The mark of a strong leader (Definitely not because fans had the habit of sending Rusty red gifts to match his hair). Blue marked the color of his company, or at least that’s what he would say around Malcom. To Rusty, it meant Player 2, Option B, a backup plan. Malcom was born to play second fiddle to Rusty, and that’s how it was supposed to be…

According to Jonas.

He saw how many neatly-wrapped boxes addressed to him ended up under the Christmas tree, how much propaganda was strewn about on their Birthday. How Horace always opened each of Rusty’s presents with a pad and paper before holidays. Rusty was smart, and it didn’t take long for him to put together how Malcom’s presents miraculously appeared the day of events, while Rusty’s sat undisturbed for weeks. He doubted most of the public even knew - or cared - about the second Venture brother. But despite the public favoritism, they had all the same stuff thanks to their uncles.

Red and blue. Kept apart in their own toy boxes.

Some things couldn’t fall into the perfect red-and-blue category though, and that hurt the most.

Red and blue did not matter when their Birthday ended up only being Rusty’s Birthday. No fans cheered for Malcom. His name wasn’t on the giant banner or even on the cake. It wouldn’t have been hard to write a silly cursive tag on a huge Team Venture cake. At least, that’s what Rusty told himself when he got chocolate icing (Malcom’s favorite) out of the pantry and ended up falling into a cake twice his size. His dad had laughed for the cameras and lifted him up on his arm, just like the statue proudly displayed in the background of the televised Birthday extravaganza. It was television gold: Rusty’s innocent, boyish shenanigans. It hurt Malcom to see their dad give him so much attention, to see the world give Rusty so much attention.

It would have hurt worse if Malcom knew his name was never on the ruined cake.

The resentment between the two grew and Rusty was powerless to stop it. Malcom hoarded his belongings because they were his. Something exclusively Not-Rusty’s. If Malcom so much as touched a blue truck, screams would dissolve into fistfights until Uncle Rodney pulled his brother off of him.

If Rusty was sad, he could crawl into his father’s bed.

If Malcom was sad…

The red and blue boxes fit well into their lives, disconnecting feelings and erecting walls that made Malcom feel safe.

There was a hatred that bloomed, something as hot as a fire, scorching hands and hurting feelings. A pain was there, one Rusty couldn’t fix with some icing or a casual toy recommendation to his Uncle Rodney for Malcom.

It began with a comic book.

In the back, there was an advertisement for a shiny, blue and yellow hamster cage. In the margins of the ad, there was several tubes kids could buy to expand their pet’s home. Rusty had never seen Malcom so excited for anything else in his life. It was a memory that he stored in his mind’s eye, to revisit when adventures took a wrong turn. The shine in his brother’s eyes before the hate came and drove it away.

For months, Malcom saved every penny because the cage itself wasn’t enough - no, he had to have a collection of interchangeable tubes stockpiled and arranged perfectly. He spent hours, mapping the perfect layout of the cage, twisting on tubes until his hands ached, and choosing the ideal hamster breed from a book.

Hours upon hours of work and layers later, he took the cage to Jonas who stared blankly at the thing. With his uncomfortable smiles and reassurances that always came when conversing with the younger brother.

When their father went to the pet store, Malcom was nearly in tears, happier than Rusty had ever saw him; hopping in place, all smiles.

Jonas came home with a puppy for Rusty.

Dogs did not come in red or blue, nor did hamsters.

It was what broke Malcom. He never cried in front of Rusty, but he locked himself in their room for hours. He stared at a wall with glassy eyes for a week, never speaking a word. Rusty was kidnapped soon after, and the little attention Malcom did have was ripped away too. All hope of one of their uncles or father caving and picking up a hamster worth a dollar was forgotten.

Even though Malcom never got the hamster, the cage remained on the drawer between their learning beds, a healthy coating of dust covering the yellow lid.

When Malcom told Rusty that he hated him, Rusty believed him.

Because Rusty was red and Malcom was blue.


End file.
